Regions

The divisional structure takes advantage of CN's network and empowers employees at the local level to make sound business decisions by putting marketing and operations personnel closer to the customer.

Within each region the major functions include:

• Engineering
• Mechanical
• Operations (of yards, terminals, etc.)
• Sales and customer service

Western Region

The Western Region extends from Diamond, Manitoba, (14.3 miles west of Winnipeg) to the Pacific Ocean. This Region of approximately 8,400 route miles of track serves the Port of Vancouver and is the exclusive rail link to Prince Rupert, the closest North American port to Northeast Asia. The Region is also home to the Alberta oil sands deposits that contain much of the world's known total bitumen reserves, including the Athabasca Oil Sands along the Athabasca River just north of the city of Fort McMurray (the “Oil Sands”). CN benefits from its unique access to this area. In the Western Region, CN carries bulk export commodities such as grain and fertilizers, coal, potash and sulfur, as well as forest products, petroleum and chemicals, and intermodal destined for international and North American domestic markets. CN also carries metals and construction materials in this Region to serve the Oil Sands development.

Eastern Region

The Eastern Region extends east from Dugald, Manitoba, (about 8 miles east of Winnipeg) to the Atlantic Ocean, and from Chibougamau, Quebec south to the Ontario-Michigan border. This Region of approximately 4,500 route miles of track serves the ports of Montreal, Saint John, New Brunswick and Halifax. The principal commodities carried in the Region are automotive, intermodal, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, petroleum and chemicals and forest products.

Southern Region

The Southern Region extends from Winnipeg, Manitoba, to Chicago, Illinois then on to New Orleans, Louisiana, on the Gulf of Mexico, and from Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, and from Sioux City, Iowa and Omaha, Nebraska, heading east to Port Huron and Detroit, Michigan. It includes the territory from Winnipeg to Letellier, Manitoba, and from Fort Frances and the inland port of Thunder Bay, Ontario. This Region of approximately 7, 400 route miles of track serves the Gulf ports of Mobile, Alabama and New Orleans, Louisiana, and the river ports of Memphis, Tennessee and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Major commodities transported include automotive, iron and steel, petroleum and chemicals, forest products, coal, fertilizers and grain. The Region interchanges traffic with Kansas City Southern Railroad (KCS) at Jackson, Mississippi, as part of the marketing alliance that provides CN customers' access to Mexico and the U.S. Southwest. With connections in Chicago and other locations to all North American Class I carriers, the Southern Region serves as a critical link to the rest of the U.S. market.